Chapter 3 BETRAYED AND HUNTED

Elara Pov

I ran.

The blank letter fell from my hands and I did not stop to pick it up because what was the point? Father wanted me dead and he sent me out here with guards who were probably told to kill me but instead they just abandoned me in neutral territory where anyone could finish the job and no one would ask questions.

My breath came in short gasps and my bag slammed against my back with every step and tree branches scratched my face and arms but I did not slow down. I needed distance and I needed shelter and I needed to think but panic made thinking impossible.

A howl echoed through the trees behind me.

I froze and my blood turned to ice because that was a hunting call and someone was tracking me. More howls answered the first and they were getting closer and I was wolfless and alone and completely defenseless.

The sound echoed through the dark forest, sending a chill crawling down my spine. My heart pounded violently against my ribs as panic clawed at my chest. Every rustle of leaves felt like a predator's step, every breath too loud in the heavy silence. I tried to move, but fear rooted me to the spot. Whoever-or whatever-was hunting me knew exactly where I was, and the distance between us was shrinking with every haunting howl. The night suddenly felt endless.

I ran faster.

My lungs burned and my legs screamed but I pushed through the pain because dying was not an option. I had evidence and I had my mother's journal and someone needed to know the truth about what Darius did and I could not let it die with me.

The forest floor sloped downward and I almost fell twice but caught myself on tree trunks and kept moving. A river appeared ahead and I could hear the water rushing over rocks and for a second I considered jumping in but I did not know how deep it was and drowning seemed like a stupid way to die.

I turned left and followed the river downstream and hoped the water would hide my scent. The howls were so close now I could hear paws hitting the ground and branches breaking and my heart hammered so hard I thought it might burst.

A wolf appeared in front of me.

I skidded to a stop and nearly fell. The wolf was massive with gray fur and yellow eyes and saliva dripped from its bared teeth. It was not from my pack and the scent was wrong so this was a border patrol from whatever territory I stumbled into.

"Please," I said. "I am just passing through. I do not want any trouble."

The wolf snarled and took a step closer. I backed up until my shoulders hit a tree trunk.

"I am not a threat," I said. "I am wolfless. See? No wolf. Just let me go and I will leave your territory."

Two more wolves emerged from the trees behind the first and they circled me slowly. I was trapped and there was nowhere left to go.

"Please," I said again. "I did not mean to intrude. I was running from my pack and I did not realize I crossed into your territory. Just let me go."

The gray wolf lunged.

I threw my bag at its face and dove to the side. The wolf's jaws snapped shut on empty air and I scrambled to my feet and ran again but I was not fast enough. Teeth sank into my calf and I screamed as the wolf dragged me down.

Pain exploded through my leg and I kicked at the wolf's face with my other foot. It let go for a second and I rolled away and my hand closed around a rock. I swung it as hard as I could and felt it connect with the wolf's skull and the wolf yelped and backed off.

I tried to stand but my leg would not hold my weight. Blood soaked through my pants and the metallic smell filled my nose and the other wolves were closing in and I was going to die here.

My hand went to my pocket and I felt the small knife I always carried. It was meant for cutting food and opening letters but the blade was sharp and it was all I had.

The brown wolf came at me low and fast. I waited until the last second and then drove the knife up into its throat. Hot blood sprayed across my face and hands and the wolf made a horrible gurgling sound before it collapsed.

For a moment I could only stand there, chest heaving, my fingers trembling around the knife's handle. The metallic scent of blood filled the cold night air as the wolf's body twitched weakly at my feet before going still. I wiped my face with the back of my hand, but the warmth of the blood clung stubbornly to my skin. My ears strained for another sound, another movement in the shadows. If one wolf had found me, the others could not be far behind, and I knew the hunt was far from over.

I killed it.

I killed a wolf.

The gray wolf and the third wolf stopped circling and stared at their dead packmate. I pulled the knife free and it dripped red and my whole body shook but I held it up in front of me.

"Stay back," I said. "I do not want to kill anyone else but I will if you make me."

The gray wolf looked at me and I saw the moment it decided I was more trouble than I was worth. It grabbed the dead wolf by the scruff and started dragging it away. The third wolf followed and within seconds they disappeared into the trees.

I sat there in the dirt with blood on my hands and a dead wolf's scent in my nose and the knife still clutched in my shaking fingers. My leg throbbed and when I looked down I could see the bite marks and the way blood kept pulsing out with each heartbeat.

I needed to move because those wolves might come back with reinforcements and I needed to find somewhere safe to treat the wound before I bled out. I ripped a strip of fabric from my shirt and tied it tight around my calf and the pressure made me want to scream but it slowed the bleeding.

My hands shook as I pulled the knot tighter, my teeth clenched against the wave of pain that shot up my leg. The forest spun slightly around me, shadows stretching and twisting between the trees. I forced myself to breathe slowly, fighting the dizziness creeping into my head. Staying still meant dying, and I refused to end like that. Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up and began to limp forward, each step heavy and unsteady, leaving dark drops of blood on the cold ground behind me.

"Get up," I told myself. "Get up or die here."

I tried to stand and almost blacked out from the pain. My vision swam and black spots danced at the edges and I grabbed a tree branch to keep from falling.

"Please," I whispered to no one. "I just need to survive a little longer. Just long enough to tell someone the truth."

I took one step and then another and each one felt like knives in my leg but I kept going. My bag was somewhere back where the first wolf attacked and I did not have the strength to go find it so I left it behind. The journal was in there and all my evidence but staying alive mattered more than paper and ink.

The trees started to blur together and I could not tell if I was walking in circles or making progress. My leg gave out and I fell hard on my hands and knees and this time I could not get back up.

Blood loss made everything fuzzy and cold and I knew I was dying but I tried one more time to stand because I promised myself I would not give up.

My arms would not hold me and I collapsed face-first in the dirt.

My father never meant for me to survive.